While most of the world has stopped celebrating Christmas, Catholics should not stop for the Christmas Season does not end until the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord in a few weeks. Below is an excerpt of an article that does a good job of highlighting this problem and offers some solutions on how to continue the celebration of Christmas:
Still Christmas: Advent & Christmas Family Traditions
by Steven D. Greydanus Tuesday, December 27, 2011
All Advent long, observant Catholics and other Christians hold the line against premature Christmas, holding off on decking the halls and singing Christmas carols during what is meant to be a time of preparation.
Now, as the world is busily dismantling what’s left of its Christmas trappings, it’s time for Christians to double down on the continued celebration of the Christmas season, which continues through the Christmas Octave (to January 1, the eighth day after Christmas, and thus the day of Jesus’ circumcision, celebrated as the feast of Mary the Mother of God) until after Advent to the feast of the Baptism of the Lord. (This year that means that Christmas runs through January 9, and ordinary time returns on January 10.)
This is especially important for families with young children, I think, to instill in them a proper sense of liturgical time at an early age.
As far as the larger culture goes, the notion of the Christmas season would seem to be a lost battle. (Suz commented recently how depressing it was to get an “After Christmas Sale” catalog before Christmas actually arrived: “It’s like it’s never actually Christmas!”)
Within our families and churches, though, we can sustain a culture of resistance. How do we do this?
.......
What we do after Christmas is as important as what we do during Advent. It’s important to celebrate the Christmas season as more than a wind-down from the big day. Here are some things we do.
First, as tempting as it may be to take vacation time from work before Christmas, I save mine for the Christmas Octave—and if I can take the first week in January and complete the “12 Days,” so much the better.
We’re fortunate enough to be friends with a number of large families at our parish, and every year our families get together for a Christmas party during the Christmas Octave—never before Christmas. We sing carols and so forth.
This is especially important for me with respect to my kids’ experience, because our family generally celebrates Christmas Day itself with family members who aren’t believers. I want my kids to have a larger experience of celebrating the Christmas season with other believers—not just in our family, and not just in Mass.
[Emphasis Added]
Read more: http://www.ncregister.com/blog/steven-greydanus/still-christmas-1#more#ixzz1hxL1DqYj
